Heini Zachariassen

Heini Zachariassen (born 1972) is a Faroese technology entrepreneur and the founder of the wine application Vivino.[1][2] He previously co-founded the cybersecurity firm BullGuard.

Early life and education

Zachariassen was born and raised in the Faroe Islands.[3][4] At the age of 22, he moved to Denmark, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration in Denmark.[5]

Career

In 1999, Zachariassen co-founded the security firm Virus112 and served as its CTO.[5] In 2002, he co-founded the antivirus software company BullGuard and served as its CEO until 2008.[6][7] During this period, he also served as chairman of the board at Føroya Tele.[8][9]

In 2010, Zachariassen co-founded Vivino with Theis Søndergaard in Copenhagen.[2][10] The company launched a mobile application in 2010 that allows users to scan wine labels to access crowd-sourced ratings and reviews.[10][11] The platform's user base grew from 12,000 in 2011 to over 50 million by 2021. During his tenure, Vivino expanded into an e-commerce marketplace. By 2021, Vivino had raised over $220 million in venture funding, including a Series D round.[12]

In June 2018, Zachariassen stepped down as CEO and transitioned to the roles of board member and Chief Evangelist.[13][14][15] He was succeeded as CEO first by Chris Tsakalakis and later by Olivier Grémillon in 2021.[16] Zachariassen has also created a YouTube series, Raw Startup, which offers advice on entrepreneurship.[8][17]

Philanthropy

In 2025, Zachariassen co-launched the "Faroe Islands Battalion" campaign, a fundraising initiative to provide vehicles and equipment to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine .[18]

Personal life

Heini Zachariassen is married to Maibritt Juul Zachariassen, and they have three children.[5][3] In 2013, he moved his family and Vivino's headquarters from Denmark to San Francisco, California.[19] The family returned to Copenhagen in 2020.[3]

Awards and recognition

  • 2012: Danish Growth Award
  • 2020: Entrepreneur of the Year at the Investor Allstars awards[20]

References

  1. ^ "Vivino Founder on Wine App Startup". Bloomberg News. 2021-02-09.
  2. ^ a b Schultz, Abby. "20 Minutes With: Heini Zachariassen's Vivino Epiphany". www.barrons.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Vivino: Heini Zacchariassen on how his app has changed the world of wine – wineanorak.com". November 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Vivino app designed to turn anyone into a wine expert - Businessamlive". Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  5. ^ a b c Hyltoft, Vibe (May 16, 2016). "Vivino-stifter: Danmark er et eldorado for iværksættere". Berlingske.dk.
  6. ^ "BullGuard boss resigns". HEXUS. April 9, 2008.
  7. ^ "From screen to store: Why wine rating app Vivino decided to enter the bricks-and-mortar space". PEAK Singapore. November 8, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Cremades, Alejandro. "How This Entrepreneur Raised Over $55 Million To Disrupt A 6,000 Year Old Industry". Forbes.
  9. ^ "PSV Academy". psvacademy.dk.
  10. ^ a b Céline Bossart. "Evolving the Wine Shopping Experience, Vivino Is Our Retailer/Marketplace of the Year - Wine Enthusiast's 2021 Wine Star Awards". www.wineenthusiast.com.
  11. ^ Tan, Dawson. "Vinovation: Heini Zachariassen of Vivino on democratising the wine industry with big data". Tatler Asia.
  12. ^ "Vivino raises $ 155 million | Meininger's International". www.meiningers-international.com.
  13. ^ Jasper, Morten (May 25, 2019). "Vivino-stifter vidste fra begyndelsen, at han skulle erstattes: »Det er bare svært at give slip«". Berlingske.dk.
  14. ^ "Aging like a fine wine: catch Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen sharing the Danish scale-up's fascinating story". Tech.eu. July 19, 2022.
  15. ^ Chor, Jakob (December 2, 2019). "Dansk vineventyr skiller sig af med direktør – grundlægger må træde til". Berlingske.dk.
  16. ^ "Vivino appoints new CEO | Meininger's International". www.meiningers-international.com.
  17. ^ Lykiardopoulou, Ioanna (March 28, 2023). "How an outsider's freedom can make a successful startup founder". TNW | Fintech-Ecommerce.
  18. ^ "Faroe Islands Battalion". www.help99.co.
  19. ^ "Disrupting Wine - The Life of an Entrepreneur". TVGuide.com.
  20. ^ "Latest visionaries of Europe's technology universe revealed". October 2, 2020.
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